The present invention relates to a molded part suitable for use in a device for conducting remote control by using infrared rays, for example.
In a television receiver, for example, remote control of power on/off, channel up/down, and tone volume increase/decrease using infrared rays or the like is carried out. In that case, a receiving unit of a remote control signal (infrared rays) is disposed, for example, in a so-called bezel portion or the like of an outer frame of a display face. As a result, the user can operate the remote control with extreme smoothness by simply directing a commander to the display face and operating the commander.
FIG. 1 shows an appearance of, for example, a television receiver. With reference to FIG. 1, a control panel 50 incorporating the above described remote control signal (infrared rays) receiving unit and control means for manually controlling the power on/off, channel up/down, and tone volume increase/decrease or the like as one body is provided on the so-called bezel portion or the like of the outer frame of the display face. This control panel 50 is formed by a molded part as shown in FIG. 2, for example.
As shown in FIG. 2, this control panel 50 includes a receiving window 51 for receiving the above described remote control signal (infrared rays), a group of switches such as a power on/off switch 52, a channel up/down switch 53, a volume increase/decrease switch 54, an input selection switch 55 and an input setting switch 56 or the like, and a group of indicators such as a power on indicator 57 and an indicator 58 indicating input setting or the like. In addition, statements 59 indicating contents of such control/setting switches are also included.
Inside the receiving window 51 for the above described remote control signal (infrared rays) a receiving means (phototransistor) 60 for receiving the remote control signal (infrared rays), a receiving circuit board 61 for the remote control signal and so on are provided as shown in FIG. 3. The above described switch group and the indicator group are provided by, for example, fitting. The above described statements 59 indicating contents of control/setting are formed together with application or deposition of an arbitrary pigment onto the above described surface.
In other words, the receiving unit of the above described remote control signal is provided within a molded part installed, for example, on the surface of the device. In that case, this molded part is molded by, for example, an injection molding. An arbitrary pigment is coated or melt-deposited on its surface. In the case of coating the pigment, an arbitrary pigment is coated on the surface of a member molded beforehand. In the case of melt-depositing the pigment deposition, an arbitrary pigment coated, for example, on an arbitrary film, is melt-deposited on the surface of the molded member simultaneously at the time of its injection molding.
In the case where the receiving unit of the remote control signal is disposed, for example, in the so-called bezel portion or the like of the outer frame of the display face, it was found that such receiving unit was unsightly and tended to be disliked. Heretofore, therefore, a portion such as the bezel portion or the like housing the receiving unit is formed by using a material (such as resin or the like) capable of transmitting infrared rays therethrough, for example, and a pigment capable of transmitting infrared rays therethrough is coated or melt-deposited on the surface of the material. By this arrangement, the receiving unit can be made completely invisible to all appearances.
However, use of this method limits pigments capable of being coated or melt-deposited on the surface. In other words, pigments capable of transmitting infrared rays therethrough typically have dark colors. Pigments having bright colors or metal luster typically cannot transmit infrared rays therethrough. In the above described method, therefore, pigments to be coated or melt-deposited on the surface are limited to, for example, dark colors. It places great restrictions at the time of, for example, device design.
Alternatively, it may also be conceivable to coat or melt-deposit a pigment capable of transmitting infrared rays onto only a portion corresponding to the above-described receiving unit. In the case of, for example, coating a pigment, however, because a pigment different from that of other portions must be applied, the number of processes is increased by the process to coat this pigment. Also, in the case where a pigment is melt-deposited on a part at the same time that the part is molded by the injection molding, the number of processes is increased because of printing for providing an arbitrary pigment on the above described film in order to deposit a pigment different from that of other portions.
In the above described case where a pigment is melt-deposited on a part simultaneously with injection molding of the part, a film 81 is prepared, for example, as shown in FIG. 4. On this film 81, an arbitrary pigment 82 forming the entire surface of the molded part, characters 83 using a green pigment to represent a statement 59 of, for example, "POWER" and characters 84 using a white pigment to represent other statements 59 are formed by printing or the like. Furthermore, a pigment 85 capable of transmitting infrared rays therethrough is printed on a portion of the film 81 corresponding to the above described receiving window 51.
By gripping this film 81 between metal molds 86 and 87 for molding the part and injecting resin or the like through an injection hole 88, the part is molded, and simultaneously the above described arbitrary pigments 82 and 85, and the characters 83 and 84 using the green and white pigments are melt-deposited on the surface of the part. In the case where this method is used and the pigment 82 forming the entire surface of the part does not transmit infrared rays, therefore, an extra printing process is needed in order to form the pigment 85 capable of transmitting infrared rays on the portion corresponding to the receiving window 51.
Furthermore, even in the case where a pigment capable of transmitting infrared rays therethrough is coated or melt-deposited on the receiving window alone, it is necessary to make the color of the pigment coated or melt-deposited on other portions akin to that of the pigment coated or melt-deposited on the receiving window in order to make the color of the pigment coated or melt-deposited on the receiving window as compared with other portions. In this case as well, therefore, pigments which can be coated or melt-deposited on other portions are limited to, for example, dark colors, and consequently great restrictions are placed at the time of, for example, device design.
Unlike these methods, it is also conducted to contrive the design of the entire device so as to make the receiving unit inconspicuous. According to this method, however, such contrivance in design for making the receiving unit inconspicuous places great restrictions in designing the device. In addition, there is a growing tendency to simplify the device design in recent years. It thus becomes difficult to contrive the design so as to make the receiving unit inconspicuous.